'The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777' by Rick Atkinson is a sprawling 800 book, and the first in a trilogy.

Those who have read Atkinson's amazing Liberation Trilogy, about America's part in the European theater of World War II will know what to expect. He has incredible attention to detail, but writes engaging prose that puts the readers right there.

The author was given access to King George III's correspondence, which was only recently available for scholars to study. With a large list of books and over 100 pages of notes, this is a well researched book.

Was this worth reading over the last few months? I'm a fan of this period of history, and there are a number of excellent books about the timeframe, but this is by far my favorite so far.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this wonderful ebook.

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The British are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775 – 1777 by Rick Atkinson is a history book, first of a trilogy, which describes the first 21 months of the American Revolutionary War. Mr. Atkinson is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and historian.

We always learn about the heroics of the American Revolutionary War, but many seem to forget that it was still war, brutal and violent with small acts of heroism as well as nation building events. In his book, The British are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775 – 1777, historian Rick Atkinson doesn’t forget that, quite the opposite, his narrative thrives on those subjects.

The books description of battle and tactics, especially those in Boston (Lexington, Concord), are vivid, exciting and informative. The author puts in a lot of detail which he either simply made up, or discovered by conjuncture. For example, how did he know that the soldiers wet shoes squelched?
You either assume, or try and find out what the weather conditions were on that day centuries ago (which is doable), or read a lot of firsthand accounts and make some assumptions.
Being that the author is a serious journalist and historian, I choose to believe the latter two – also, there are tons of footnotes so my “belief” is based on this.

The author goes into much more detail than other books, who try to encompass the whole Revolutionary War into one volume, as big as it may be. Not only does the author discusses strategies, outcomes, and consequences, but also describes the day to day life of the lowly grunt who left their house and home to join a fight which they could, and some would, lose everything.

The great detail which the author supplies does not bog down the narrative. These details are there to support the narrative and primary sources being quoted, not to impress the reader with information overload (or worst, show off the research).

Mr. Atkinson wrote a very readable piece of history, which makes you re-think many things you learn. Historic battles which seemed like the epic work of logistical masterminds were sometimes acts of desperation or simply improvised, painting a convincing picture of what it must have been like to fight for the “glorious cause”.

Rick Atkinson’s flair for the colorful detail of a country at war is demonstrated again in “The British are Coming”. I’ve long been a fan of Atkinson, and his “Liberation Trilogy”, and am delighted that he has brought his research and writing talents to the early battles of the Revolutionary War in Volume 1 of the Revolution Trilogy.

Atkinson brings the horror and glory of battle vividly to life with quotes from the actors themselves, from the lowliest to the the most exalted. His descriptions of George Washington, for example, are drawn from the writings of the man himself, as well as American and British contemporaries. Of particular interest to me was the section on Franklin in Paris.

I very much look forward to the next two volumes.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first in a three part series on the Revolutionary War. It is by far the most comprehensive book I have read about the time period (and I have read several) presenting the perspectives of both sides and a number of the individuals involved. This book is not one for someone who is a casual history reader nor without a keen interest in the subject due to the detail in the book. I personally found the book rewarding  and well worth the time spent reading it. I am looking forward to the next two installments. It has also provided me with motivation to tackle the author's three part series on World War II which I have been pondering for quite some time.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook and Twitter pages.

A really good book about the first few year at the revolutionary war. One thing I really liked was it shows the British and American sides. A really good beginning for a new series

An excellent comprehensive look at the Revolutionary War. I appreciated how Atkinson gave such an even handed look at the whole thing.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book does an excellent job of covering the first few years of the Revolutionary War from all angles; British and American, General and foot soldier, military battles and political battles. I think the length is about right for such a formidable task. Key battles and characters are covered in detail without lingering too long on any one subject.

With so many people featured, no one figure is covered at the length of an individual biography, but the essence of many individuals is captured. I was particularly impressed by the depth that was provided on George Washington, who is often seen by historians as a bit steely and impenetrable. Washington went through a profound depression during the first few years of the war, and this is pulled into focus by some of the letters to his confidants that are quoted. He was commanding an army that was lacking men, supplies, order or experience. His ability was constantly questioned, and he made several costly mistakes in early battles. His life was constantly at risk and hope always felt nearly lost.

One person that I would have liked to see a more thorough examination of was King George III. He is featured in the book, and his position on continuing the war and breaking the rebellious spirit is documented, but there seems like more going on psychologically with him than is explained. For instance, the author references that George started to get very into farming and purchased numerous books about it. I would have liked more explanation of his personal travails and interests, and how they may have influenced his decision making.

The British side overall though is well covered, with detailed portrayals of General Howe and others. Although many Americans understand that the colonial army was greatly lacking in supplies and food, this book does a great job of highlighting some of the same issues for the British side. They essentially had to ship everything over the ocean, and ran into lots of problems doing so. Horses and men would be shipped over, and enormous percentages would die in transit. Other British challenges are given keen attention as well. The British truly had to find a way to win the war and crush the rebellious spirit of a fledgling nation, while the American side could win simply by not losing for long enough.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book was the incredible quotes that were used, ranging from Kant, to Voltaire, to Adam Smith. The first-hand accounts about post-battle medical attention really enliven the severity of the combat. If I had one quibble about the quotes it would be that John Adams, although admittedly a quote machine, is possibly over-quoted. His writings are referenced disproportionately throughout the book, even though in many cases he is an outside observer.

Overall though I found the book very enjoyable. I generally prefer biography to wide-ranging military history like this, but The British Are Coming is sufficiently well paced and shifting to stay interesting.

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review